two year old HELP!!

I am starting having some difficulties on how to deal with his very emotional outbursts when he cannot have his "way"

Let me give you an example. He wants to watch cartoons ( which we try to limit his TV time to long car rides and a show in the morning or evening) Now, he wants to watch cartoons, and I say not right now, we can watch cartoons later. That leaves him a wreck. He starts to cry and beg for "toons", then I try to distract him with somthing else, or just sit by him to comfort him. Lately I have started to just give in and fulfill his request.

What do I do!?!?!? I know I need to be consistent and follow through with what I say, but I just cant take his sweet little face so sad and begging me for what he wants.

-Create a "yes" environment...as much as possible, let everything in his path be something he can do. At his age he is driven to explore and discover everything, so, as much as you can, try to encourage that.

-Let him have his tantrums...when the "no" moments do come up, let him have his BIG feelings and express them to you. His reactions to "no"s (like in the example you described), while quite un-fun for parents, are VERY normal. Really the best thing you can do is to let him have his feelings and be there for him throughout and until he does feel better. The message you want to give is that it's always OK to feel certain feelings. He is really too young to learn how to express them appropriately. So, for now just ride them out with him. But if your "no" is really something that is a definite NO, don't reconsider because of the volume of his screams. If TV time is over, that's OK; that's a valid "no"! But it's also OK for him to be upset about it. He needs to know that there are limits, AND that it's OK to dislike those limits.

-Take a mommy time-out...this is an effective tool to use when he is having a tantrum about something. Take a few minutes to compose yourself, focus on your PD toolbox, and regain your composure so you can continue to be your best mom self...someone who is kind and firm at the same time!

Comment

I usually put a bed cover over the tv and tell my children that the tv has gone to sleepies. We can only watch tv when he wakes up. then I take it off when its time for tv.then we put it to sleepies again when we have finished.